PIGEON FORGE, Tennessee — With the Smoky Mountains as a backdrop and sculpted butterflies and string instruments sparkling out front, at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa, stress melts as fast as snowflakes on a griddle.

You might even sing like a little bird, especially after the common bonding experience of talking about, and sometimes singing a few bars of, your favorite Dolly Parton songs with other guests — “Coat of Many Colors,” “Jolene” “Islands in the Stream” or “I Will Always Love You.”

Even those who can’t name or carry a tune feel at home at wallet-friendly DreamMore. The sprawling “backyard” backs up into the mountains; patios beckon with white rockers and white Adirondack chairs circle big fire pits with flames ready to warm hands, hearts and s’mores. You can pick up fixin’s for the s’mores at the fire pits each night. The spacious guestrooms’ family-friendly features include bunk beds and daily kids’ activities that engage energy and creativity.

TripAdvisor recently named Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the Top Ten of its list of destinations with skyrocketing interest. DreamMore makes a good home base for exploring America’s most visited national park. When you go depends on whether your family hankers for mild or wild, serene or extreme.

Winter escape

Lampshades that encourage guests to “Dream” help set the tone. It’s easy to imagine Dolly’s hand in the smoke-free hotel’s design. Raised with 11 siblings in a poor but loving home in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, a TV performance at age 12 led her to the Grand Ole Opry’s stage and stardom. Her tender bell-clear voice and remarkable song-writing talent led to a long career and seven Grammy awards.

Dreaming figured big in her childhood, suggesting inspiration for the resort’s “dream” theme. The big porch edging the 300-room hotel evokes thoughts of her singing on the front porch of the one-room cabin where she was raised. Theme packages include Lyrics & Lore, a late-January event featuring songwriters and storytellers.

You can swim year-round. Even when the fanciful outdoor Swimming Hole is closed for the winter, the Garden House’s heated indoor pool is open. Its big picture windows frame Smoky Mountain views.

Eating well without even leaving the resort is easy. A big family-sized generously topped house-made pizza costs about $15 at the lobby Pantry that’s open early to 10 p.m. Song & Hearth serves affordable gourmet twists on southern favorites for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The child’s menu is very appealing, and anyone can indulge in the buffets. Like pancakes? Varieties include birthday cake, chocolate brownie, cinnamon roll and banana pudding, and you get to watch the chefs make them to order. Décor details include a reclaimed barn wood ceiling and lights resembling fireflies.

America’s largest group of independent artisans line the 8-mile loop of Gatlinburg’s Tennessee Heritage Arts & Crafts Trail. Charming candy, doughnut and craft shops, and moonshine distilleries, fill Old Mill Square in Pigeon Forge and The Village in Gatlinburg.

Spring break-away

Prefer extreme to serene? Visit when Dollywood rides and shows open in mid-March. Soon after, you can cool your heels and everything else in the wild, wild wet of Splash Country. A short, free shuttle ride from the DreamMore resort, these spectacles add man-made highs to the Great Smokies.

Dollywood, Tennessee’s top paid attraction, has earned best-of awards for amusement park rides, food and shows. Several additions now put it over the top, including the new Lightning Rod, the fastest wooden roller coaster in the world. It launches zero to 45 mph more than 20 stories up its lift hill, plunges down a 165-foot drop, delivers epic airtime and reaches a white-knuckle 73 mph.

Spring brings a new high-energy dance and light show from Tokyo. Come summer, Drop Line will tempt daredevils with a nearly 20-story free-fall that barely misses a canyon pool. Whistle Punk Chaser, a new junior coaster, takes youngsters on a twisting thrill ride.

What’s longer than a football field and spirals down five stories through tubes? TailSpin Racer, a new addition to Dollywood’s Splash Country, which has 23 wet attractions.

Afterward, you can recharge at DreamMore. Or hide away in one of many Dollywood Smoky Mountains Cabins in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. The log cabins are well-suited for sweet dreams.